Pereira to retire as BHP country manager in June

Vincent Pereira, BHP's country manager in TT for the last 16 years, will retire in June.

Michael Stone, a fellow TT national and BHP's operations manager, will succeed him.

In a release Wednesday, Geraldine Slattery, BHP's president operations petroleum, said Pereira was instrumental to BHP’s growth and success in Trinidad and Tobago.

"He has helped BHP earn the position as a sector leader through strong safety and consistent financial and operational performance. Under Vincent’s tenure we’ve reached significant milestones, including the development and approval of our Ruby project and our frontier deepwater exploration programme, resulting in a major gas discovery. Vincent’s commitment to growing our footprint and maximising local content has been a great benefit for BHP and for Trinidad and Tobago. He’s been a true advocate for the energy industry and we are grateful for his contribution,” she said.

On Stone’s appointment, she added that as the company marks 25 years of business in TT, "I have confidence in Michael to take the reins and add a new perspective. Through various senior roles within (BHP's petroleum sector), Michael has played a key part in major projects, is a genuine people leader with deep knowledge of our business and sector, and is passionate about the success of BHP in Trinidad and Tobago. I look forward to the continued success of our Trinidad and Tobago business under Michael’s leadership."

Pereira, via the release, said the last 16 years at BHP were a privilege and collectively represented a lifelong dream in his career.

"(This) would not have been possible without the commitment of my BHP colleagues and industry partners. I am proud of the milestones we’ve achieved together and equally grateful for any challenges we’ve faced that have made us stronger today. We’ve come far in Trinidad and Tobago and we have a lot more to look forward to under Michael’s stewardship. He is absolutely the right person to continue unlocking value for BHP and for Trinidad and Tobago,” he said.

Stone, also via the release, said he enjoyed working with Pereira and that he was honoured and humbled by the opportunity to succeed him as country manager.

"Vincent has shown unwavering commitment to this business and I share the same passion and dedication. I’m truly energised by the work ahead and the people I’ll be working alongside with to continue progressing our business in Trinidad and Tobago,” he said.

Pereira joined BHP in 2005 and has more than 35 years of experience in the energy sector, in TT and in the US. He has guided BHP through some of its most significant discoveries in TT, notably deep water exploration, where the company projects nearly 3.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas potential and Ruby, an oil field scheduled to begin production this year.

Stone has been with BHP for 18 years, working across Trinidad and Tobago and the US, within senior roles in operations, commercial and finance. As TT operations manager, he is accountable for safe and efficient production delivery and leads the operations team. He is a former national scholar and also holds an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business in Ontario, Canada.

Over the coming months, Stone and Vincent will work together to manage the transition, BHP said.